


Bernie-Bear's Shell

by bethany81707



Series: Stories of Garreg Mach [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Baking, Cake, Classroom, Cravings, F/M, Flash Fic, Past Abuse, Self-Esteem Issues, Smile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-01-12 23:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21234137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: Bernadetta's night-time prowling lends her to being spotted, but by someone who can offer more helpful advice than a stern rebuke.





	1. Midnight Snack

Bernadetta slipped into the kitchens, ignorant to the empty world around her as the cravings for a beloved snack overtook all other thoughts. Thoughts of her undesirability, thoughts of her being vulnerable outside her room, thoughts of how bad a lashing she was going to get being found in here, nothing mattered until she had her cake. She got on her toes, and gently unlatched the cupboard where the cakes were kept.

“No chocolate again…” Bernadetta sighed, looking for something else. She eventually grabbed a different one, leaving the kitchen disappointed.

“Who’s there?” someone asked. Bernadetta froze, the cake dropping to the ground. Great, now she needed to pinch another cake. She was already probably going to get two hours for all the cakes she stole already, she really didn’t need more…

“Bernadetta, correct?” the other student asked. Bernadetta screamed, running deeper into the kitchen and curling into a ball.

“You… You didn’t see me, OK?” Bernadetta asked. She felt a hand on her back, and scrunched up her face in fear.

“What cake do you like? I’ll get it for you,” the other student said. Bernadetta asked for chocolate under her breath, and the student left her. Bernadetta wanted nothing more than her craving to stop, so she could run and hide with Tonka.

“...They didn’t have it… say, can you bake?” the student asked. Bernadetta’s cheeks flushed red.

“Yeah… but…” Bernadetta whimpered.

“Come on, let’s bake a chocolate cake. It’s not gonna disturb anyone, and if it does, I’ll take the blame,” the student said. Bernadetta squealed, and ran to the cupboards. She grabbed everything she thought went into a cake, and only on her companion reading the recipe he found did she start narrowing things down. By the third time Bernadetta decided to change an amount of an ingredient or choose a new one all together, the other student decided to just stop reading and let her bake. Within the hour, she pulled out a delicious, chocolaty cake, just for her.

“I’ll clean up. You enjoy yourself,” the other student said.

“Thanks, er…” Bernadetta started.

“Ignatz. I’m from the Golden Deer,” he said.

“Right… I remember you. You’re… you’re nice, Ignatz,” Bernadetta said, sitting down at the table rather than retreating to her room, waiting for Ignatz to finish cleaning. She chowed down bite after bite of her chocolate cake, falling in love with her own creation with every bite. When Ignatz returned from the kitchen, it was to see Bernadetta with her face covered in chocolate and only a single slice left on her plate.

“Would you like a slice? As thanks for, um…” Bernadetta stammered. Ignatz chuckled, and accepted it gratefully. He took a bite, and his eyes widened.

“This is great. Puts the cakes the chefs make to shame,” Ignatz remarked.

“Yeah… I thought the same. I’ll never steal again, only baking for Bernie,” Bernadetta said.

“Say, Bernadetta… when did you learn to cook? You seemed… well, you clearly knew what you were doing. That’s not really what I’d expect from someone who hides in their room all day,” Ignatz said. Bernadetta started trembling, but held her ground.

“My mother taught me to cook, and gave me a lot of books about the theory. I spent a lot of time reading when I was younger, so I know all those books by heart,” Bernadetta explained.

“That’s rather thoughtful of her. I wish I knew how to cook. If I’m going to be going my separate way from my family, I need to know how to survive on my own, and my parents didn’t quite think that far ahead when they were busy focusing on my older brother. I’ve got a lot riding on my becoming a knight while I’m here, and my grades are… well, let’s just say I’m looking at my options,” Ignatz said. Bernadetta stood up to go wash her plate, and Ignatz couldn’t help but linger, considering the girl.

“So what house are you from?” Bernadetta asked. Ignatz looked up, baffled.

“Golden Deer,” he said. Bernadetta shook her head.

“I mean like your noble house. I’m not too familiar with the Leicester nobles, just the ones of the flag,” Bernadetta said. Ignatz’s eyes widened in realisation.

“Oh, I’m not a noble. I’m a commoner. My parents are merchants,” Ignatz explained. Bernadetta froze, dropping her plate in the sink. Her legs gave out, and Ignatz vaulted over the bench to grab her before she hit her head on the sink on her way down.

“No… don’t touch me! Leave me, while you still can!” Bernadetta screamed. Ignatz’s hands jumped away, backing up as he looked at Bernadetta’s tear-stricken face. He may not have been social, but he learned a lot about reading a person’s eyes, and he knew the pain on Bernadetta’s face was not the pain of a noble who had to spend time with a commoner against his will- he had seen plenty of those eyes on Lorenz’s face. Bernadetta was scared  _ for _ Ignatz.

“Do you need help going back to your room?” Ignatz asked.

“GO!” Bernadetta wailed, and Ignatz hastily complied. Bernadetta was a nervous wreck, neither able nor willing to move and return to the safety of her locked door, her comfy bed and her stuffed turtle. Imagining Ignatz, beaten and bruised on the pavement stones of Garreg Mach, his glasses shattered and his fingers broken…

“Why, Professor… of all the students to ask to talk to me, why did it have to be a common boy?” Bernadetta asked. She did not remember ever mustering up the energy to return to her room. All she knew was that, at some point in her fears and memories of both Ignatz and her father, the next time she was fully aware of her surroundings was with herself, in her room with the door locked, snugly put to bed with her sheets tucked in, and her beloved turtle Tonka in her arms. She didn’t leave her room again for a week.


	2. First Smile

Bernadetta didn’t need word to return to her father about the time she spent with Ignatz to see him brutally beaten. What he got by being slashed by the Death Knight was probably worse than anything her father could throw at him, and he took it surprisingly peacefully as he rested up in the infirmary. Bernadetta visited him every day under the cloak of night, holding his hand, pleading for his recovery. With his recovery, Bernadetta decided to accompany a fresh craving for a chocolate cake with a gift of one of her slices to him. Bernadetta gently knocked on his door.

“...Bernadetta?” Ignatz asked when he had opened it. Bernadetta squeaked, but offered the slice of cake wordlessly. Ignatz took it, looking at the rest of the thing with some trepidation.

“Do you want me to check on you later?” Ignatz asked.

“Please don’t…” Bernadetta whimpered. Ignatz nodded politely, returning to his painting as Bernadetta went back to her room and locked herself in. She got started on scarfing down her cake, chocolate getting everywhere on her face and hands while she stared vaguely at her latest painting. It was supposed to be of the beauty of the fishing pond at night time, but right now it was intimidating, the sort of place Bernadetta did not want to be. Useless, worthless…

A knock at the door. Bernadetta looked through the peephole, and noticed a massive Golden Deer boy waiting on the other side.

“Hey, Bernie! I’ve got a present for you!” he bellowed. Bernadetta was ready to turn to her cake and forget about him, but he knocked again and repeated himself. Bernadetta sighed, realising she was not to be left in peace, and opened the door slightly. The boy slid the gift into the room through the door, which Bernadetta realised was a canvas. Someone had offered her a painting… which meant it was probably Ignatz. Bernadetta, in spite of herself, wiped her hands on her skirt before picking up the painting and taking a look at it. It was a picture of herself, drawn to astonishing accuracy considering how little she and Ignatz had gotten to see one another. What amazed her, however, were the corners of the painting’s mouth. They were turned up, a foreign expression to her, yet one that made the Bernadetta in the painting look far better than the real thing could ever hope to be. She hung the painting on a wall, and pulled down the drawings on her desk to find the mirror underneath them. She tried pulling her mouth up to match the drawing, but the effort was tiring and the Bernadetta in the mirror didn’t look quite as nice.

“Should’ve known… useless Bernie…” Bernadetta mumbled, shovelling back into her cake. Heavy footfalls sounded outside, which were not followed by an attempt to enter her room, so Bernadetta dismissed them as simple passersby. It had been a while since anyone had tried to enter her room seriously. Last time didn’t count, he was on delivery.

“Why would anyone want me around anyway? I just scream and nod to get away,” Bernadetta sighed. The footfalls returned, baffling her, until Ignatz and the other boy entered her room- which she suddenly realised wasn’t locked.

“GET OUT!” Bernadetta screamed, falling off her chair in the confusion. Ignatz helped her up onto the bed, while the other boy started scooping up the last few crumbs of the cake.

“You’re not useless, Bernadetta,” Ignatz told her. Bernadetta realised the earlier footfalls must have been the other boy, lingering to listen in on her.

“Yes I am! I’m an unmarriageable girl with nothing going for her!” Bernadetta argued.

“You’re a better archer than I am, even ignoring your Crest of Indech. You’re a great cook, you’re clearly good at drawing and embroidery, from the looks of this room…” Ignatz explained.

“You don’t understand! Good girls should be quiet and obedient!” Bernadetta retorted. Ignatz froze.

“...Where did you learn that?” Ignatz asked.

“My father. He’s always going on about how I’ll never be a good wife and marry a rich husband if I don’t act all quiet and obedient. I don’t understand- I’m perfectly quiet and obedient!” Bernadetta said.

“Well, I don’t think that’s important for a woman,” Ignatz said.

“You? You’re just a commoner, remember?” Bernadetta exclaimed.

“Look at the nobles. Ferdinand is enjoying his time with the boisterous Leonie. Claude had a chat with the daring Petra. All sorts of women are interesting. I’d personally love to have a girlfriend like you, who liked to draw and create,” Ignatz said.

“And cook!” the other student proclaimed loudly.

“Raphael, Bernadetta’s not going to cook for you full time,” Ignatz told him.

“You’d… you’d marry me?” Bernadetta asked. Ignatz blushed, trying to remember the exact words he just used.

“Only if you’d want to, of course. And I’m sure there’s got to be some consequence of nobles marrying foreign commoners and the whole matter of how your father’s going to react to get past before we can even think about it,” Ignatz stammered.

“But if you say the word, he’ll do it!” Raphael exclaimed. Ignatz sighed, but Bernadetta beamed.

“Thanks, Ignatz. It really does mean a lot,” Bernadetta assured him.

“Oh, um… you’re welcome? Would you still like us to leave? Uh…” Ignatz stammered. Bernadetta nodded, pushing them towards the door and locking it behind them before sighing in relief. There were people that wanted to marry her after all. She wasn’t unmarriageable. And Ignatz didn’t even raise his voice or try to strike her. She took a look in her mirror, and noticed that the Bernadetta looking back at her was doing that thing with her mouth the one in the painting was doing, and the one in the mirror looked even more splendid than the painting.

“...I like this feeling,” Bernadetta said.

“It’s called happiness, Bernadetta!” Ignatz called.

“Call me Bernie,” Bernadetta said, hearing the pair leave satisfied. Happiness… had it finally come to her?


	3. New Class

Bernadetta showed up to the Golden Deer’s classroom early, a first for her. She usually waited until Manuela had already begun lecturing to sneak in, so she would be too engrossed in her own voice to notice. As soon as she looked around the Golden Deer, she began to doubt her actions, listening to Lysithea yell advanced magic equations and Leonie wrestling with Raphael. Ignatz waved her over to somewhere to sit, where he was already joined by Ashe.

“Scared?” Ignatz asked. Bernadetta nodded, not feeling comfortable opening her mouth. Why did she think she’d be OK with new people? She should’ve just stayed in her room. How great a teacher could Professor Eisner really be?

“Relax, Bernie. She’s really quite nice,” Dorothea assured her.

“You’re the one in love with her,” Bernie said. Dorothea shrugged.

“That just means she won’t be paying as much attention to you. She’ll be too distracted by my seductive curves,” she suggested, leaning over and giving all three of them cause to look a different direction for a little bit while their nerves settled themselves down.

“Once a seductress, always a seductress, huh?” Ashe was the first to speak up, long after Dorothea had righted herself.

“It’s surprisingly useful for distracting people. Enemy soldiers, for instance. Even the girls can’t get enough of them!” Dorothea said.

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. Come on in,” Claude said, opening the classroom door as he arrived. Claude’s arrival was usually two minutes before Bethany’s, allowing for the classroom to file in and assemble their workspaces. Bernadetta sat next to Ignatz and Dorothea, confident any other decision would have her leaving the classroom on her first day, and Ashe went to sit with Leonie. Sure enough, once their equipment was taken out, Bethany had walked into the room.

“You may notice that we have two new students. They will be joining us permanently, and I expect you to do whatever you can to make them feel welcome. Obviously, for some of you, that will not be as easy as it will be for others, so keep your own limits in mind,” Bethany began, looking at Lorenz in particular. Bernadetta admired the quick sentences Bethany preferred. Quick and to the point. Bethany handed out some documents from her table, and it was only when Ignatz was the only person near her to receive one did she realise they were completed assignments.

“Your work on your Advanced Exams was satisfactory. With one unfortunate exception, you have all passed them such that you may proceed with developing your skills in these new classes. Well done,” Bethany said. Everyone apart from Ignatz looked pretty pleased at themselves for this praise. Bernadetta preferred the quiet congratulatory note to the loud celebration Maneula favoured when they passed their exams.

“Now then, for today’s lesson. This month, our class will be expected to handle a peculiar incident occurring inside a village. What might our immediate concern be?” Bethany asked. She looked around at the number of hands that were raised, before indicating Leonie.

“We’ve got to make sure the villagers aren’t hurt, and evacuate them before we can approach the battlefield in great numbers,” Leonie said. Bethany nodded.

“You must always be cautious of the number and positioning of innocents when fighting in populated areas. Can we rattle off some reasons?” Bethany continued.

“Making sure they aren’t combatants in disguise,” Claude said.

“Avoiding enemy crossfire,” Lorenz added, shooting Claude a glare.

“Not allowing the enemy to conceal themselves within them,” Lysithea said.

“All valid. The number one concern I possessed was that for every innocent that I killed, the payout I received for taking care of whatever issue I was handling would be less. Obviously, some of these concerns are higher priorities than others,” Bethany said. She wrote down a list on the chalkboard, and Bernadetta clued on she was supposed to copy the list down. She couldn’t help but smile on noticing the second point on the list provided was to ensure that the homes and land were disrupted as little as possible.

“Now then. For today’s task, you are to discuss how you would approach a battlefield in a populated area, keeping in mind the key points provided as well as your own notions, and write down your thoughts. You may work in groups of no more than three,” Bethany explained. Bernadetta paled at the thought, but Ignatz shuffled the desk such that she realised she could work with him and Dorothea. Raphael worked with Ashe and Leonie, while Lorenz joined Lysithea and Marianne. Claude and Hilda joined with Flayn, and Bethany was quick to look at them first.

“Is Beth always like this?” Bernadetta asked.

“Only mostly,” Ignatz said.

“This came up before. Group work helps people to notice flaws in their approach, as well as making sure you know how to give criticism yourself. There’s also a few other ones, but I totally zoned out when she was explaining them to me,” Dorothea said. Bernadetta nodded, watching Ignatz drawing up a table of the key points.

“So, what would you use to identify civilian from combatant?” Ignatz began. Bernadetta realised what he had planned, and the three began to talk their way through their approaches. Bernadetta admired his neat writing while she listened to Dorothea, thankful for having a single person focus on the task. Bethany visited their table the least of the four groups, only making sure that they were on task and that their work was satisfactory, which it was. Bernadetta was worried about whether they really were doing the right thing, until Dorothea pointed out the pink blush on her cheeks, and the way her eyes lingered on Dorothea’s chest. It was a habit of Dorothea’s, unrelated to Bethany and difficult to break.

“Good work, class. We shall take lunch, and when we return, the time will come for sharing,” Bethany stated.

“Are you comfortable?” Ignatz asked, as everyone started standing.

“...As long as you’re here,” Bernadetta said.


	4. Dance and Laughter

Bernadetta blushed as Dorothea put the finishing touches on her outfit for the ball. Well, she wasn’t going to the ball, but Dorothea wasn’t one to turn down the opportunity to play dressup. Her own dress was probably prettier than anything she’d ever seen in Mittelfrank, and her hair was luscious beyond all reason. Compared to her, Bernadetta would never compare. And yet Dorothea still worked, giving her a gentle purple dress that complimented her and brushing her unkempt hair to look neat.

“Will you be OK on your own?” Dorothea asked.

“Are you making fun of me?” Bernadetta asked.

“My mistake. Will you OK with just you and Ignatz?” Dorothea amended herself.

“I have no idea what you think you can do to make me feel any better,” Bernadetta said.

“I’d gladly let Beth slip away if you were in trouble and needed my help,” Dorothea said. Bernadetta turned to her.

“You don’t need to worry about me. It’s Ignatz. If I can’t trust him, I’ve got bigger problems,” Bernadetta insisted.

“I know. I’ve just fought off too many bad dates…” Dorothea sighed.

“Come on, Dorothea, they’ll be expecting the House Leaders soon,” Edelgard called.

“Go on. She needs you more than I do,” Bernadetta assured her.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Dorothea muttered, leaving the room. Bernadetta did consider calling her right back, but having Ignatz, Dorothea and Edelgard all at once was going to be scarier than just Ignatz. Especially if Edelgard started getting angry about being held up.

“Hello, Bernadetta,” Ignatz said, finding Bernadetta lying on her bed holding Tonka. She whipped her head around to face him, sending her locks flying about and hitting her in the face.

“Hey, Ignatz. Where’ve you been?” Bernadetta asked.

“Raphael wanted me to come see the ballroom, at least. It definitely looks like the sort of place you wouldn’t like. Plus, they even get alcohol in there. It was nice seeing Edelgard and Dimitri dancing with Golden Deer, though,” Ignatz explained, and Bernadetta nodded.

“Which ones, again?” Bernadetta asked.

“Edelgard with Lysithea and Dimitri with Marianne. Claude dragged Bethany onto the floor, and I almost want to know how,” Ignatz said. Bernadetta’s mind started conjuring up other people’s reactions to her. Would people have judged her for dancing with Ignatz?  _ Are they judging her for staying in her room? _

“May I?” Ignatz asked. Bernadetta seized up, realising the music had already begun, and meekly allowed Ignatz to take her hands and begin their limited dance. Despite, or perhaps because of, the lack of space to move around, there were frequent missteps. Bernadetta had gone barefoot, while Ignatz took off his shoes after the second step.

“Ignatz… do you like me? You know…” Bernadetta asked, looking around for anyone who might happen to not be at the ball. Not likely, but Ingrid was still missing, it was possible.

“You mean romantically? I… what about you?” Ignatz asked.

“I’ve never really… heard about love until I came here and met Dorothea. Marriage has always been just that. My father hands me to some man and my life doesn’t really change. I like you, Ignatz… but I don’t have friends to compare. I want to be with you because I’ve never known a likable alternative,” Bernadetta said. Ignatz found himself pulling Bernadetta into a tight hug. Bernadetta struggled lightly, before feeling the tension in Ignatz’s body and allowing her arms to fall into a reciprocation.

“I find you charming when you get to talk about what you love. Your plush toys, your paintings, your cooking… I love getting to hear about the world you’ve created for yourself. And I want the Bernie behind that to keep at it, which means I don’t want to risk you going anywhere near your father again. Bernadetta… I want to be your friend. I’ll protect you from anything you need protecting from. And if that means marriage… I’ll gladly accept that responsibility,” Ignatz said.

“...You’d do that… for Bernie?” Bernadetta asked.

“Bernie deserves it,” Ignatz assured her. Bernadetta felt tears begin to flow, and Ignatz pulled his hands around to start stroking her comfortingly.

“It’s going to be all right. If you never want to go back to your father, you don’t have to. You can stay in Leicester with me. Raphael and his sister Maya won’t be far,” Ignatz suggested.

“Oh, Ignatz, you know me too well. People I don’t know aren’t encouraging me to leave. But… I think I might take you up on that offer. I don’t want to upset Edie, but I think about going back to my father and I lose sleep at night!” Bernadetta said.

“Edelgard allowed you to come to the Golden Deer class. Perhaps she would consent to allow you out of Adrestia. And if she doesn’t… well, I wasn’t going to inherit the family business anyway. I’ll come with you to Adrestia, and I’ll keep your father out of your business,” Ignatz told her. Bernadetta let out a few squeaks, cuter than normal. Ignatz paused, waiting a little bit, before seeing the massive smile on her face. Bernadetta was trying to laugh. Ignatz started tickling her, and the squeaking turned into a louder shriek, barely recognisable as mirth. Ignatz only knew he hadn’t overstepped the boundaries because Bernadetta’s face hadn’t lost that massive grin.

“What was that?” Bernadetta asked.

“It’s… it’s laughter, Bernie. You found whatever I said funny,” Ignatz said.

“...Uh… oh yeah. Sorry, I was imagining you standing up to my father. I don’t doubt you’ve got the backbone if it’s for me, but my father is so big that you come up to his waist. At least, I think he does…” Bernadetta explained, starting her mirthful squeaking again. Ignatz was mostly sure Bernadetta was at least somewhat exaggerating Count Varley’s size, but the thought of someone like him standing up to a man that huge was pretty amusing.

And Ignatz knew he would do it if it meant hearing Bernadetta smile and laugh.


	5. Incoming Inny

The house the three went to hide in wasn’t in the best condition, but while there were a surplus of factions searching the continent for their opponents and the new front lines of the upcoming war, Bernadetta was left terrified, with Ignatz and Raphael working to bring her to safety for a regroup. As they made themselves moderately comfortable for at least a rest, they took inventory and reasoned the place was at least livable if need be.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine not helping Edelgard?” Ignatz asked. Bernadetta nodded from the kitchen, looking around for the ingredients to something to cook.

“We can help her later, when things have ‘settled down’,” Raphael observed.

“And, I mean… those people wiped out Bethany. And there was that pillar of light that crossed the sky…” Bernadetta called.

“Fair enough. Compared to some of the other classmates, we’re not exactly the prime cut anyway. Edelgard needs Hildas and Lysitheas, not Ignatzes,” Ignatz said. Raphael shook his head, but chose not to respond to that remark. An uncomfortable silence fell instead, listening as Bernadetta threw all sorts of ingredients into different pots and pans, keeping track of multiple dishes at once.

“What can we do, though? We’re letting Claude down by doing nothing. We’re letting  _ Beth _ down by turning tail,” Raphael said.

“I know! I… why did it have to come to this?” Ignatz asked. Bernadetta came over, her various recipes all taking time to cook, and started rubbing his back with the heel of her hand.

“You saved me. You were never a life taker, Ignatz… you were a life saver,” Bernadetta told him. Ignatz pondered how to use this advice in silence, waiting for Bernadetta’s stuff to finish cooking. Raphael was less patient, but he managed to restrain himself from pilfering the larder for the edibles.

“That ought to do it. Some food’ll help calm you down and help you think,” Bernadetta told him, heading to the oven and pulling out their dinner. She dumped it onto a board, and moved over to check on dessert. Raphael barged up to take a slice of dinner, but immediately regretted it.

“How often do you feed him, Ignatz?” Bernadetta asked.

“More often after doing a lot of physical activity,” Ignatz assured her. Bernadetta scattered a few spices, cut up some servings, and plated them up for the three of them. Ignatz was happy to gnaw on the food Bernadetta made, her delicate touch and mastery of the craft leaving him hungry for more. Raphael shovelled it down, but he shovelled everything down. Ignatz would never be sure if he felt the same way about her cooking. Bernadetta looked quite proper in eating, turning bright red and reconsidering every single movement she did when she noticed Ignatz was watching.

“Don’t worry about formalities here, Bernie. I’d worry about making sure the ceiling doesn’t hit you,” Ignatz said. He wasn’t actually expecting a part of the ceiling to fall down at that moment, but Raphael laughed and Bernadetta shrieked all the same.

“You’re one of us now, Bernie! You can eat however you want!” Raphael assured her, letting out a large burp in the opposite direction to Bernadetta. Bernadetta scarfed down the rest of her food and tried to do the same, to make only the smallest of noises. Ignatz found himself chuckling, as Bernadetta nervously slunk away to fetch the cake. It was much plainer than her usual fare, since they didn’t have the ingredients to make her iconic chocolaty lump, but as Ignatz bit down, he found it still surpassing his expectations.

“You’re an amazing cook, Bernie! You could cook for a living,” Raphael suggested.

“Oh… I couldn’t…” Bernadetta started, turning red.

“No, Raph has a point. You wouldn’t have to be out in the open to cook. You could just hide in the kitchen, have fun with your cooking, and you wouldn’t have to see everyone judging you out there,” Ignatz suggested.

“...Is my cooking really that good?” Bernadetta asked.

“I’ve never had anything better,” Ignatz insisted. Whatever Raphael had to say on the subject was held back by the fact his mouth was full of her cake.

“I’m… I’m good for something… I can’t believe it…” Bernadetta squeaked, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Ignatz pulled his chair over to her side, pulling her into a hug.

“We’ll be here to help. We can make our own inn! We’ll look out for the people of Leicester,” Ignatz suggested.

“I’ll call my sister! She can be the waitress!” Raphael added.

“And when we have moments together, Bernie, we can sit down and paint like we used to,” Ignatz finished. Bernadetta looked up at him.

“Thank you… Iggy,” Bernadetta said. Ignatz pet her head.

“We’ll have a ways to go if we want to establish our inn. All sorts of this and that. But we shall work our hardest to make it a reality,” he said.

“Hear, hear! I’ll go set up beds for tonight, though. There won’t be a tomorrow if we don’t rest. OK, there will be a tomorrow. But it won’t be pleasant,” Raphael said, leaving the pair alone downstairs. Bernadetta blushed, a question on her mind.

“I… I don’t want to go back to Adrestia. I don’t want to see the place my father tortured me. I… I want to be a Victor, Iggy. I don’t want to be Bernadetta von Varley,” Bernadetta told him. Ignatz nodded, keeping a hand on hers.

“We’ll have that arranged, Bernie. If there’s anything that you can think of that will make you happy, ask and we’ll give it to you. Remember that,” Ignatz insisted. Bernadetta thought back to her childhood, thinking of what her father told her about being a good, submissive wife. She was amazed to find that she couldn’t recall a thing about his ‘teachings’. All she wanted as Ignatz’s future wife was to paint with him, to cook for him, and to draw comfort from his presence.


End file.
